Special thanks: We extend our most heartfelt gratitude to my brother for suggesting a GoFundMe appeal as potentially an important component of the help we seek. We recognize that the appeal is being sent quite late in the timeline of our situation, but frankly a GoFundMe fundraiser had never occurred to us. The humility we live by and the a degree of shame brought on by our situation has surely clouded our vision. We hope that late is still better than never.

                 

Our Journey

We are an American-Belgian couple who have called the Vallée d'Aure in the French Pyrénées home since 2011. Our love of animals is well known and our home in the village of Rebouc has steadily become an unofficial animal sanctuary.

We've poured our hearts and resources into reviving a restaurant, Le Mont d'Aure, that was a local institution but had been closed for nearly a decade before we took it over. This project has brought new life to our community, but the path to profitability has been challenging.

During the development of the restaurant, we always prioritized paying our staff and suppliers over ourselves, which unfortunately led to missed mortgage payments during lean periods. The COVID pandemic further strained our finances, creating a cycle that was difficult to break. Despite our commitment to the business and community, these missed payments occurred too frequently over time, prompting our bank to initiate foreclosure proceedings.

Our Path Forward

Le Mont d'Aure, founded back in the early 1970s, is once again very popular with locals and tourists alike. We are regularly booked out, due in part to an increasing number of groups (clubs, teams, businesses, wedding parties, ...) choosing our restaurant for their special events. This underpins our confidence that we're on the right path toward profitability.

Click the following link for a glimpse of what we offer our customers: www.lemontdaure.fr

                 

We're currently working with an expert consultant to restructure both our business and personal finances. A key pillar of our strategy is already in motion: I've stepped back from much of my daily operational role at the restaurant to pursue additional income from a completely unrelated source.

In what might seem ironic given our current financial situation, I was recently recruited by a reputable French wealth management firm that's part of a major financial services group. They recognized my international professional career and life experience, language skills, entrepreneurial instincts and trustworthy demeanor as valuable assets to help them develop services for expatriates settled in France. Since April 1st, I've been actively providing these services as a member of their south-west France regional team.

You might wonder: If a solid financial institution trusts me with their clients' wealth, why won't a mortgage lender help us? The answer is straightforward: mortgage lenders operate by checking boxes and requiring documented history of earnings. Despite having the confidence of my new employer, I don't yet have the earnings history a bank would need to see. Traditional lenders simply cannot look beyond their rigid criteria to see the path forward that we're building.

Our Last-Chance Solution

We've found a financial company specializing in property acquisition with right to repurchase that's willing to help us. This arrangement would allow us to:

• Sell our home to the company temporarily;


• Continue living in our house;


• Have the option to repurchase our home after a set period;


• And crucially, contribute to the viability of our action plan in the eyes of the judge.

This solution would keep our family intact and provide stability while we rebuild our financial foundation.

Here's the challenge: The company will only purchase our home for up to 60% of its market value. To bridge the gap and make this arrangement work, we urgently need to provide a down payment of €80,000.

Our own families are already contributing what they can within their means, but the amount needed is substantial and beyond what our family network alone can provide. This community fundraising effort is essential to bridge the remaining gap and save our home.

                 

This is our last hope to save our home before our court date with the judge in May. At that hearing, we must present a viable refinancing plan to convince the judge to grant us additional time to implement our solution.

Understanding the French Foreclosure Process

For those unfamiliar with the French foreclosure process, it differs significantly from procedures in the United States. In France, the process involves appearing before a specialized judge who can grant additional time for homeowners to implement viable refinancing solutions. Our May court date represents a critical opportunity to present our plan, not the final foreclosure date itself. This gives us a chance to save our home if we can show meaningful financial progress and a realistic path forward. The stronger our financial position by the time of the hearing, the more likely the judge is to view our plan favorably and grant us the time needed to complete our refinancing arrangement. Hence the importance of gathering as much of the required €80,000 downpayment as possible before the hearing.

Our Animal Family

Our home isn't just a house – it's a sanctuary for our many animal companions. Relocating with them would be nearly impossible, potentially forcing heartbreaking separations from the creatures who depend on us.

Any funds raised beyond our goal will be placed in a dedicated account specifically for animal feed and veterinary care expenses.

Our Gratitude – More Than Just Words

We're not simply looking for handouts. In return for your generosity, we offer our heartfelt hospitality:

As our way of saying thank you, donors will have infinitely grateful friends in the south-west of France ready to welcome you. We would be delighted to host you in our mountain chalet, provide an amazing culinary experience at our riverside restaurant, and immerse you in authentic cultural experiences in this relatively undiscovered corner of France – nestled in the middle of the Pyrenean mountain range, just a two-hour drive from both the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and only an hour from Spain.

                 

Once we secure our home – our first and most urgent priority – we plan to offer an animal sponsorship program. Contributors will be able to sponsor a specific dog, cat, donkey, pig, or sheep, receiving regular updates and photos of their animal friend thriving in their preserved sanctuary. This will naturally flow from successfully saving their home first.

We're deeply grateful for any support during this difficult time. Thank you for being part of our journey to save our home.

Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. If you'd prefer to reach out directly and personally, you can send an email to michael@rebouc.fr